About

Linda Kuo is a photographer committed to social-environmental issues involving the impact humankind has upon nature and the animal kingdom. Her personal documentary projects illustrate the persevering resilience of animals and their ongoing struggle to adapt to human-driven changes.

Informed by thorough research and deep respect for nature, her compositions uncover overlooked aspects of our relationships with animals with an eye for detail and a commitment to difficult truths. She advocates for the preservation and responsible stewardship of our environment and the sentient beings that share our world: this, along with holding ourselves accountable, is key to our survival.

When photographing people, Kuo seeks to capture an interior emotional reality—revealing the quiet complexities of her subjects that reflect the deeper dimensions of the human condition.

Linda's work has been featured in The New York Times, The London Sunday Times Magazine, Slate, German Geo, and Photograph among others. Her photography has been exhibited at the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center, The Center for Fine Art Photography in Colorado, and the Biennial of Fine Art & Documentary in Barcelona, among other national and international exhibitions. She has also received awards from Julia Margaret Cameron, the Biennial of Fine Art & Documentary, and the Philadelphia Photo Arts Center.

She was born and raised in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. Belonging to the only Asian family in her neighborhood, experiences of marginalization and alienation fostered a special affinity with animals and a unique perspective on their relationships to society. In her photographic essays, she continues to observe the interactions between humans and animals, reflecting on the many ways we are connected, and creating imagery that questions the ways in which humans interact with the natural world.

CV

PUBLICATIONS

2024 • Wild-Tier-Fotografie "Cultural Animal Studies" book series - Author Jessica Ullrich, Metzler, Stuttgart, Germany
2022 • The Daring "Linda Kuo on Portraying Wildlife"
2021 • The New York Times “Caring for the Wildlife That Stray Into the Suburbs”
2018 • Photograph, "Portfolio" Art critic: Elisabeth Biondi
2017 • Otto Publishing, "Post Mortem" Photozine Festival, Rome
2017 • Scholastic, "A Visit to The Vet"
2017 • Seeing with Animals Conference "Co-Existence"
2016 • The Eye of Photography, "Reclaimed"
2015 • The New York Times - LENS and Sunday Metro, "Treating Exotic Pets"
2015 • The Eye of Photography, "Displaced"
2015 • Wired "The Remarkable Patients at a NYC Exotic Animal Hospital"
2013 • The London Sunday Times Magazine "Displaced"
2013 • Slate Magazine, "Exotic Animals, Far From Home"
2013 • Feature Shoot, "Photos of Displaced Animals Who've Been Illegally Imported into the United States"
2013 • Muybridge's Horse, "Hit and Run"

AWARDS

2019 • Gallery Valid Foto, Barcelona Spain, 13th Julia Margaret Cameron award for female photographers, Winner Documentary & Reportage series, "It takes a Village." Juror: Elisabeth Biondi
2017 • Fotonostrum, Barcelona, Spain. 10th Julia Margaret Cameron award for female photographers/Biennial of Fine Art & Documentary Photography, Barcelona, Spain, First Place editorial & documentary single image,  "Elegant End." Juror: Amber Terranova
2014 • Nominated 2015 PDN’s 30 New and Emerging Photographers to Watch
2014 • Philadelphia Photo Arts Center Annual Competition and Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA, First Place: "Elegant End" Jurors: Mary Ellen Mark and Brian Paul Clamp    
2014 • ASMP Annual Image 14 Competition and Exhibition, New York, NY, Judges Choice: "Mecca's Hydrotherapy"
2012 • Camera Club of New York Annual Competition and Exhibition, New York, NY, Third Place: "Displaced" (Jurors: Elisabeth Biondi and Martine Fougeron)              
2012 • Nominated 2013 PDN’s 30 Emerging Photographers to watch

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2024 • Photo Place Gallery, Portrait: Self and Others, "Lisl with the Cat that's not her Cat" Middlebury, VT, Online gallery, Juror: Aline Smithson
2023 • Photo Place Gallery, Portrait: Self, Others, "Lennon" Middlebury, VT, Juror: Elizabeth Avedon
2019 • The Center for Fine Art Photography, Contemporary Portraiture,"Jennifer and Elmo" from the project "Minor Companions," "Tyler" from the project "Giving Grace."
2018 • 5th Biennial of Fine Art & Documentary Photography, Barcelona, Spain, "Elegant End" from the project "Reclaimed"
2017 • Fotonostrum, Barcelona, Spain. 10th Julia Margaret Cameron award for single documentary image. "Elegant End" from the the project "Reclaimed" Juror: Amber Terranova
2017 • Center for Fine Art Photography "Animalia Exhibition," "Juxtaposed Deer" from the project "Reclaimed"
2015 • Phoenix Art Museum, INFOCUS PhotoBid, Phoenix, AZ/"Playful Kid," from the project "Considered"
2014 • PPAC 5th Annual Contemporary Photography Competition, Philadelphia, PA, "Twilight" and "Elegant" from the project "Displaced"
2014 • ASMP IMAGE 14 Annual Competition and Exhibition, New York, NY, "Mecca's weekly hydrotherapy treatment" from the project "Displaced"        
2014 • Art Works Projects for Human Rights Chicago, IL, Picturing Change Silent Auction, "Coop"
2014 • The Ochberg Society for Trauma Journalism Children, Trauma and Bearing Witness Silent Auction, "Coop"
2012 • Camera Club of New York Annual Competition and Exhibition New York, NY, "Displaced"
2012 • Lyceum Theater Gallery San Diego, CA, The Art of Photography Show "Route 121" from the project "Hit and Run" (juried show)
2012 • The Dart Society for Trauma and Journalism, Silent Auction "Merritt Parkway"
2011 • Umbrella Arts Gallery New York, NY, "Dinner"

LECTURES AND ARTIST TALKS

2019 • Artist Lecture/Presentation, Graduate students in journalism for Lori Grinker, The Arthur L Carter Institute, NYU, New York.
2017 • Artist Lecture/Presentation, Projections, The Photo Closer, Paulaner, New York, NY

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